Tuesday, 9 November 2010

Sleeping Beauty--White-rumped Munia

The White-rumped Munia is a small bird (about 11cm in length) and a resident breeding bird in tropical southern Asia including Hong Kong.

From their appearance we can see that they are related to the finch family.

They feed mainly on seeds.

The White-rumped Munias are often seen feeding in woodlands and urban parks. A few days ago, I was lucky to see a sleeping White-rumped Munia in my local park. I have seen birds sleeping on trees but this was the first time that I encountered a bird sleeping on the ground. The bed was some dry leaves under the shade of grass.

I managed to stay a few meters away without waking it up.

After a few minutes, the bird must have sensed my presence.

I guess it might be very tired because the bird gave me a sleepy look and went straight back to sleep. I was so pleased to have been able to capture this sleeping beauty.

In fact, this one was not the only bird who didn’t mind me being around. One bird looked straight into my camera.

Another one even posed for this portrait.

I was so impressed with their feathers which looked like a big shawl on their shoulders.

Another common bird in South Asia, the Scaly-breasted Munia, looks very similar to the White-rumped Munia, except its underparts are white with black scale markings.

What a lovely post. I guess it is much more comfortable amongst the leaves than trying to balance on a branch. He sure did pose nicely for you. :)

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